History and genealogy of Peter Montague, of Nansemond and ...

INTRODUCTION. 45
any one now living in the Co. where there were Montague graves.
In company with Mr. Walter Gresham, the postmaster of Lancaster,
he went to that spot, situated in what appeared to be a primeval
forest. On arrival he first saw the well defined outline of the foun-
dation ruins of an old colonial dwelling house. This foundation is
of brick, and the bricks are twice as large as modern bricks, showing
that they were the kind made by the first settlers. Knowing the
custom [which still exists in Va.] of burying their dead in the rear of
their dwelling and not in a general graveyard, he began a search of
the ground in the rear of the ruins of the old colonial house, and
soon found lying on the ground, broken into fragments, (some of the
pieces missing) the headstone with the inscription, " Here lies the
body of Mrs. Hannah Montague wife of William Montague and
daughter of Capt. Richard and Sarah Ball." Near by were the head-
stones of Capt. Richard Ball, 1726 ;
Richard Ball [and sister of Hannah Montague] ;
of Sarah Selden, dau. of Capt.
and of John Selden
her husband. All of these stones were dark slate color, and lay upon
the ground broken in pieces. Here then was a stone indicating a
Montague and Ball marriage, the grave of Peter ought to be near
here. After a further search a well defined grave was found some
yards distant, heavily bricked with a solid cube of colonial bricks
extending apparently deep in the ground, but not above it, and laid
in mortar. Deeply imbedded in this masonry there had originally
been an upright stone, which was now broken off close to the foun-
dation, and lay face down upon the ground, while on top of it,
covering it up was a large fallen tree much decayed but heavy. This
stone was white or gray, showed great age, had become decayed
through age, so that it had in places crumbled into small flakes, that
lay about it. It was so aged, that with a little handling it would
crumble all to pieces, and from its position imbedded in colonial
bricks it is beyond all doubt the grave of & first settler. It is different
in material from the stones of 1726 and at first sight of it, the mind
is convinced of its antiquity. Mr. Eugene George of Lancaster, a
most kind and courteous young gentleman, kindly volunteered to get
horses and a man and have that large log removed from the stone,
which was done, but it was found that any inscription upon it had
been entirely obliterated, and the stone had cleaved off in flakes from
extreme old age. Nothing whatever was vipon it to identify it. There
are no other graves in that locality. The writer learned that when